Kowalski's Last Log
by TheBlueWolf888
Summary: Oneshot. Skipper' POV. Some time after Kowalski's death, Skipper finds a somethimg that might be his only log and perhaps his last will. Rated for character death and depth. Not a slash.


**Kowalski's Last Log**

_I still remembered it all. _

_My team and I were on our last mission against Dr. Blowhole. We won in the end but not without a huge price to pay. Though it seemed to be a relief that it was all over on that day, it was also his last. It was the last time we ever saw him up and running. It was Kowalski's last day._

_How did it come to that? Well, there was a loud, earth-shaking explosion and debris was flying everywhere. I didn't notice one huge block of concrete and steel plating heading towards me. No one did. Except for Kowalski. He pushed me out of harm's way. But in the process, he was the one who got knocked badly on the head. _

_I scanned the area that got hit. It was bleeding horribly and this practically added to the amount of blood he has already lost, the first one being in the three-inch-long gash on his left shoulder. I wrapped the head wound with bandages and we made our way back to the zoo. But he was still bleeding, so we called the attention of Alice the zookeeper, who immediately brought Kowalski to the animal hospital at the first sight of his wounds. _

_The doctors weren't able to save him. After three days, he was buried in a spot near the zoo. Everyone grieved for him, including the lemurs and Alice. From that day on, life was never the same. Instead, it felt like there was a large, gaping hole in the middle that was impossible to fill up._

_I could still recall his last words._

"_Skipper…take care…team…"_

I woke up. It has been a month since that incident happened. Private is still devastated about it. So is Rico. I could say the same for Marlene. Everyone else seemed to have recovered, though I can tell that they're trying their best to not mention anything about it. Especially if we're anywhere around them.

I sighed then looked at the clock. Three in the morning. I got out of my bunk and decided to make myself a cup of coffee. As I stirred my coffee with the fish in it, my eyes wandered to the door that led to Kowalski's lab. A month since it was actually opened. We never dared to do so. Not because we feared that his ghost might haunt it, but because we revered it as his sacred place. An area never to be disturbed by anyone but him. His sanctuary.

I cringed. Surely it would be dusty in there and filled with fermenting chemicals and rusty inventions. My cleaning nature got the best of me and I ventured into the room. Oddly enough, it was deserted, the viles, flasks and bottles empty of chemicals and mixtures and the lab table free of inventions and experiments. Except for a single clipboard on the middle.

I cautiously approached the table, afraid that there might be booby traps hidden everywhere. But none harmed me. I continued towards the table leisurely yet warily and picked up the object on it.

It was _his _clipboard.

I swept away the dust and flipped through the papers, laughing at the drawings and inscriptions as memories filled my mind. Memories of him giving out options, inventing something that would destroy the world, going nuts over Doris the dolphin and, apparently, candy…

Something landed onto the floor with a clank. I looked down and saw a disc case with a disc in it. A torn piece of paper was taped to it. It must have been placed in between the clipboard's papers. I reached it and examined the paper. It had the number two and pictures of me, Rico and Private glued to it. I then realized the message. _'To the team'_.

I dashed out the lab and in front of our TV. I took out the disc from its case, inserted it into our DVD player and sat on the floor in front of the screen. At first, nothing happened and I feared that the disc might be damaged. But then, something did.

The screen flashed and showed Kowalski in second person view and in color. He fixed something in front of him that telecasted him to me, perhaps the camera. He cleared his throat before tapping the lenses and actually saying something.

"_Is this thing on?"_

I chuckled at the scene. Obviously, this was his first time to do this. When he saw that everything was alright, he proceeded.

"_Kowalski's first, and perhaps last, video log."_

His last? I looked at the upper left of the screen, where the date and time was. I froze. Exactly two hours before I woke him up that day. His last day.

"_Why last?"_

I turned my attention back to the screen.

"_It's because shortly, the team will embark on, as Skipper says it, the last stand against Blowhole."_

I remembered all of it again and, boy, did I have such a headache!

"_Since this is probably the last time I might use this, I'll sum up everything that I've been through in my life."_

He's gonna mention every bad thing that has ever happened to him, I just know it.

"_I'm thankful."_

Thankful that he could finally escape the nuisances we created? Thankful that he will never see us again?

"_Thankful, that I lived this life."_

Wait. What?

"_I know I keep on mentioning that the daily rackets get on my nerves often and could possibly drive me insane. But, I then realized, that there's more to that."_

There is?

"_Before, I used to be a cold being with no emotions or incapable of feeling, believing that science is the only way to go. But being here, living this life and enjoying the company of my team and my friends, totally changed me forever."_

Now that he mentioned it, he _was_ distant and uncaring on the team's first days. And slowly he changed, beginning to emote more than usual every now and then.

"_I began to feel. To emote. To laugh or cry when needed. To be sad or happy when the situation called for it. To love and remember. To forgive and forget…"_

I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes.

"_I don't have enough time to enumerate it all, so I'll proceed to the people who changed my life. First up is Skipper."_

I had a bad feeling about this. That was what my gut said but my heart thought otherwise.

"_He's the leader of the team and is extremely prone to paranoia. I mean, he thinks everyone around him is a spy of his enemies!"_

I sorta frowned at that comment. Who wouldn't if someone really emphasized your paranoia in somewhat a mocking way?

"_But overall, he's a good guy."_

Okay, that cooled me down. A bit.

"_He may be bossy, but his determination and good-heartedness make up for his flaws."_

I cleaned my earholes, thinking that I heard wrong. I never noticed before that I was good-hearted.

"_He cares a lot for us, his team and though he says that we are like brothers, I think that we have more like a father-son relationship. Well, at least he, Private and Rico have. With me, we're more like brothers."_

I sighed. I recognized this to be true and I didn't get to treat him more like a son as I did with my other teammates.

"_But I understand since Private is the youngest among us four and Rico has this condition. I'm just satisfied that Skipper never lost these traits as time flies by. And I hope he never will."_

I felt the first tear flow down my face and drip to the floor.

"_Next up, Rico. He's sort of like, oh I don't know, mentally unstable or something. If he causes too much destruction, he'll eventually turn into a chaos-craving psychopath. Plus, he can regurgitate anything from a chainsaw to a payphone to ten thousand ball bearings. Talk about handy!"_

Way to go with the descriptions, Kowalski.

"_He and I often argue about which among brute force and intelligence really gets things going. He is usually at peace when asleep, not doing anything destructive and spending time with his doll girlfriend. I know, weird on so many levels."_

I sniggered again. If he was still alive and Rico found out about this, there surely will be a fight of the century.

"_Then there's Private. He's the newest addition to the team, rendering him with no experience on fighting. He's sweet and naïve, curt and polite and so adorable that you couldn't stay mad at him for a long time. He's usually the one who brings light to this team with his cuteness and positivity. And he's an expert at being cute and cuddly and in mini golf."_

He paused, turned away, drank some water from his cup nearby and spat it out. This was technically his reaction to Private's mini golfing days as Mr. Tux and why he does that is still pretty much unknown. I remembered him spitting water at Rico two times. It's a miracle that Rico only got annoyed.

"_Marlene, an otter from California. Being born in captivity made her afraid of the wild, thus she becomes feral if out of the zoo grounds. She's practically the only female friend we have in the zoo. Likes to play the acoustic guitar and oysters are her favorite food."_

Man, is he observant!

"_Let me see. Who else? Ah I know, the lemurs! There's Julien. He's more of an annoyance than our friend. He thinks he's the 'King of New York' and that we should all be his servants._ _Very narcissistic. His right hand man is Maurice, who is loyal to him, and his only worshipper is Mort, who is obsessed with Julien's feet with the reason/s why unknown. The other residents of the zoo are Bert the elephant, Roy the rhino, Joey the kangaroo, Pinky the flamingo, Mason and Phil the chimpanzees, Bada and Bing the gorilla twins, the chameleons in the reptile house and many more whose names I have forgotten."_

There was another break. Kowalski looked away and wiped off a tear in his right eye.

"_I'm sorry, it's just that I really AM grateful that I met everyone. I can't think of what might have happened if I didn't."_

He turned his gaze back at the recording camera.

"_I know that someone will eventually find this. So now, I'm going to address everyone who altered my way of thinking."_

This is it. This is gonna really hit me bad.

"_First off, to all the zoo residents, I thank you for contributing your parts to my change. I really appreciate it. And finally, to my comrades."_

Here it comes.

"_I am truly grateful that you came into my life. I could say that you three have played the most important roles in my transformation. You were the ones who really made me who I am today. Thanks to you, I have enjoyed life to its fullest and seen its beauty. I have stared danger in the eye and won several times, though I might not be so lucky this time around. I have witnessed sorrow and lived to feel it again."_

I was really crying now, tears streaming down my face like miniature waterfalls.

"_When life seemed to be at its bleakest, you were there to support me, to hold me up. When distress took over my mind and filled it with darkness, you were there to cheer me up and bring in the light. When the pain and agony seemed unbearable, you were there to share it and endure it with me."_

His words pierced my heart like a sharp sword. He really knows his poetry!

"_That's why I have decided that if anything happens to any one of you during the mission, I will see to it that you all end up safe and unharmed, even if it costs my own life."_

That delivered a blow to me. A sort of knockout blow. A sort of heart-warming blow.

"_I have left you some of my belongings that I hope you'll cherish throughout your lives. They're all on the top shelf in my lab."_

He left us some of his stuff?

"_Private, I have this Junior Scientist Kit that I know you'll take full interest in. I learned everything from it and I'd like you to have it."_

Aw, how sweet…

"_Rico, inside Private's kit is a recipe of a new, deadly explosive I have concocted not long ago. It's yours now. Just don't go overboard with it."_

Disturbing yet touching.

"_And Skipper, I bought you tickets to Peace Concert that'll take place at the Central Park in three months. I heard that there will a whole lot of hippies there, so happy slapping!"_

He got me passes to an upcoming Hippy Convention? It's a dream come true!

"_Well, that's practically my whole conclusion of my life. And it was all worth it. Gotta go. Skipper will be waking us up in an hour or so. Don't want to tick him off on possibly my last day. This is Kowalski, signing off for the last time."_

And the video ended. I stood up, swabbed away my tears and turned to the clock. One hour and thirty-three minutes since I woke up. I returned the disc into its case and put it under my pillow. I then headed to the lab to get the things that he had left for us. I smiled as I went along. Why? Because now I know that he loved his life.

After that, I came outside. The sun hasn't risen yet and I looked up at the dark sky. Somewhere up there, Kowalski rests with Manfredi and Johnson by his side, no longer feeling pain nor weariness but only joy and peace.


End file.
